FBI Confirms Possible Gitmo Abuses

FBI Details Possible Detainee Abuse

FBI agents documented more than two dozen incidents of possible mistreatment at the Guantanamo Bay military base, including one detainee whose head was wrapped in duct tape for chanting the Quran and another who pulled out his hair after hours in a sweltering room.

Given the climate of power that has been traditionally the case at the FBI since the days of J. Edgar Hoover, the term "possible" had to be included in this report for fear of retributions. Our federal government is filled with qualified experts whose professional opinions are dismissed out of hand by the honchos heading the Bush administration.

What I find interesting is that the top law enforcement and investigative organization in our federal government found "possible" incidents of abuse when the military, CIA, inspector generals, military police and other DOD representatives could not find any. In fact, the Commander of the American Legion was led on a dog and pony show tour which led him to write an article in the American Legion Magazine that fully endorsed the idea that no abuses were taking place... despite numerous condemnations by international human rights organizations, the UN human rights investigative body, the UN Secretary General as well as evidence that such was the case through interviews with lawyers representing "detainees" (a.k.a. "prisoners") and former prisoners themselves. Numerous former detainees have been released by their home nations after being released by US military authorities because their was no evidence that these detainees had ever been enemy combatants or terrorists.

The mounting evidence is rather conclusive: the United States is in violation of seven or eight treaties signed and ratified by our congress. That in and of itself is a violation of our Constitution by virtue of the treaties clause that incorporates all ratified treaties into the "supreme law of the land." Violation of ratified treaties is an impeachable offense. Since we know that President Bush, Vice President Cheney, Attorney General Gonzalez, Secretary of State Rice and former Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld all supported the Gitmo activities, there are grounds for the impeachment of Bush and Cheney as well as the resignation--in disgrace--of each of those cabinet members. Personally, I would be satisfied with the impeachment of Bush and Cheney because replacing the others would be at the discretion of the Speaker of the House that would be required to replace Bush and Cheney.

Documents released Tuesday by the FBI offered new details about the harsh interrogation practices used by military officials and contractors when questioning so-called enemy combatants.

The reports describe a female guard who detainees said handled their genitals and wiped menstrual blood on their face. Another interrogator reportedly bragged to an FBI agent about dressing as a Catholic priest and "baptizing" a prisoner.

Some military officials and contractors told FBI agents that the interrogation techniques had been approved by the Defense Department, including directly by former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

I can speak to the issue of whether or not these acts constitute abuse of authority, abuse of human rights, and conduct outside of the Geneva Conventions and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights because I served in two branches of the military where we were trained on the Geneva Conventions, the conduct of individuals and units during war, the treatment of prisoners, and the unlawfulness of particular orders. We need only look to our own civilian laws regarding treatment of prisoners for even the most basic of parameters that qualify as maltreatment and abuse. Certainly sexual harassment, the smearing of blood which could have transmitted disease (a felony in several of our own states), and the violation of religious rights (even if by actors rather than official clergy) are acts that must be considered maltreatment. Would any of us want to be treated in this manner? Do we treat even convicts that commit the most heinous of crimes in this manner? Would any Christian stand for such treatment if it were being done outside of fear, secrecy and power-mongering created by the Bush administration? I think not.

The documents were released in response to a public records request by the American Civil Liberties Union, which is suing Rumsfeld and others on behalf of former military detainees who say they were abused. Many of the incidents in the FBI documents have already been reported and are summarized in the ACLU's lawsuit.

It is interesting how bad a rap we ACLU members get for standing up for civul liberties and human rights... unless it is when our rights are being violated. The ideals of being an American are such that we do not only stand up for our own rights, but the rights of others. At least that is what we have been led to believe in World War I, World War II, the Korean War and, to a limited extent, the Vietnam War. We have also been led to believe in those ideals throughout our history of foreign policy, even during the Cold War. In fact, many of our most heroic efforts have come in the name of protecting the rights of others in the world. The Berlin Airlift comes to mind as a prime example of these ideals put into action. But when we act in the same manner as Hitler, Mussolini, Franco, Stalin, Hussein, Idi Amin and others that have held little to no regard for human rights in the name of nationalism and fear, we are nothing more than supreme hipocrites rather than a super power.

Defense Department spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Joe Carpenter said the issues raised in the report are not new. A dozen reviews of detention operations have found no policies that condone abuse, he said.

Why have we tolerated such abuses for what now amounts to years? Quite frankly, I am ashamed of my government, the president and his cabinet that have supported these actions and policies, and our collective failure to demand that our standards, values and first principles be complied with in the fullest sense. The fact that a DOD spokesperson would go on record that these issues are not new speaks volumes about the state of our nation. Obviously, chaos, greed, apathy, neglect and fascism are the rule in Washington.

The treatment of detainees has long been a volatile subject, especially between the administration and the Democratic lawmakers slated to assume the majority when the 110th Congress convenes on Thursday.

Bovine excrement! The Dems did nothing to raise hell about these issues. So far, they have done nothing to effect constitutional accountability on the GOP and the GOP White House. Even while they were in the minority they acquiesced to the whims of the GOP ultra-conservatives. Now, Speaker Pelosi has ruled out an impeachment process that would hold Bush and Cheney accountable for failing to adhere to their oaths of office.

One incoming chairman served notice Tuesday that the issue is a top priority. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., notified Attorney General Alberto Gonzales that his panel's first oversight hearing of the new Congress would focus on two documents Leahy is seeking about the interrogation methods of another agency, the CIA.

The Justice Department has refused to hand over the documents, saying their contents are "extremely sensitive" and could help terrorists plot more attacks.

Obviously the Attorney General deserves to be tagged for resignation in disgrace or impeachment as well. His support of this "top secret at all costs" approach, in the face of overwhelming evidence of violation of our Constitution and breach of all standards of caring for prisoners, is ludicrous and criminal. The refusal of the Justice Department to turn over documents is yet another sign of fascism in our government.

President Bush signed legislation in October that authorized aggressive interrogation tactics but did not define them. ACLU lawyer Jameel Jaffer said the court documents show that stricter congressional oversight is needed.

"If you just authorize in a vague way, there's no end to the abusive methods the interrogators will come up with," Jaffer said.

One of the standards that SCOTUS has used to assess the constitutionality of any law is whether or not it is vague. Vagueness is determined by several metrics, including whether or not the legislation is overly broad in its scope. Another is whether or not it is arbitrary or capricious in nature. Another is whether or not it violates established standards of decency or public policy. The manner in which most of the legislation passed to deal with the "war on terror" has been overly vague in determining exactly what can and cannot be done under the rules and regulations developed under those laws.

Since congress has to this date surrendered its role and duty of oversight, we look to the courts for a check and balance on the executive branch. There are only two problems with that approach. The first problem is that most of the judges sitting on the bench are appointees of ultra-conservatives like Reagan, Bush and Bush Junior. Scalia, being the most ultra-conservative, is addled in his approach to determining constitutionality. Thomas is a rubber stamp for Scalia, even when he finds some nuances in which he might disagree. Alito is a moron when it comes to constitutional law. Breyer, Ginsburg and Kennedy (who is a conservative of the more moderate ilk) are greatly outnumbered. Chief Justice Roberts has not really exposed his character on the SCOTUS bench, but his past performance does not speak well for opposing the government or big corporate power.

The records were gathered as part of an internal FBI survey in 2004 and are not part of a criminal investigation.

The agency asked 493 employees whether they witnessed aggressive treatment that was not consistent with the FBI's policies. The bureau received 26 positive responses, including some from agents who were troubled by what they saw.

Herein lies the rub. Psychology studies on the treatment of prisoners and minorities have shown that there is a great amount of "group think" and mob mentality inside detention centers. If left unchecked, or if there is an atmosphere of approval and official condoning of such abuse, there is a significant tendency for other guards to join in the abusive process. Peer pressure not to report is very powerful. The facts that only a handful of personnel, who were trained for this type of duty, were troubled by what they saw points to the effect of peer pressure and the group think process.

Add to that the very nature of the military where conformity is valued very highly--especially in regard to morale, espirit de corps and mission achievement--the nature of the group think and peer pressure are accelerated and exacerbated.

"I did observe treatment that was not only aggressive but personally very upsetting," one agent wrote, describing seeing a man left in a 100-degree room with no ventilation overnight. "The detainee was almost unconscious on the floor with a pile of hair next to him. He had apparently literally been pulling his own hair out throughout the night."

Okay... Since when has placing a person in a high heat, unventilated space become an acceptable manner of treating a prisoner? We shut down Alcatraz for just this type of maltreatment. Why have we cast aside our basic humanity and principles in such a vulgar manner?

Another agent said he heard several "thunderclaps" then saw a detainee lying on the floor with a bloody nose. Interrogators told the agent the man was upset and had thrown himself to the floor.

In one report, an agent said he saw a detainee draped in an Israeli flag in a room with loud music and strobe lights. A note on the report said the Israeli flag "may be over the top but not abusive." The words "may be" were then crossed out and replaced with "is."

I hope that the very desciption of these reports raises a lot of questions. I urge everyone to follow the links to the actual report and the ACLU page that has a chronology of all the abuses (see the links above).

Carpenter, the Pentagon spokesman, said the Guantanamo detainees "include some of the world's most vicious terrorist operatives."

"The Department of Defense policy is clear," Carpenter said. "We treat detainees humanely. The United States operates safe, humane and professional detention operations for enemy combatants who are providing valuable information in the war on terror."

Bovine excrement in the extreme! Report after report, from reliable sources and from the actual detainees--some of whom suffered incarceration for 3 or 4 years--points to the unreliability and invalidity of these statements. It is obvious to anyone with a well-reasoned mind and a sense of decency that abuse, if not outright torture, is occuring at Gitmo.

The FBI reports do not say whether any laws were broken. They said nothing employees observed rose to the level of abuse seen at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

Big deal! Are they tacitly trying to say that if the abuse is not as bad as what was done at Abu Ghraib it is okay or it is permissable? I suggest we form a panel of fifty citizens from all walks of life, including a few lawyers, to visit Camp Delta and make our own, independent investigation. But that would never be permitted.

FBI spokesman Richard J. Kolko said all the information in the reports was passed on to the Pentagon's inspector general.

More evidence that the fox is guarding the chiken coop.

A federal judge is considering whether to allow the ACLU's lawsuit against Rumsfeld to go forward. Government officials are normally shielded from personal lawsuits related to their jobs.

But there was a SCOTUS decision that made an exception to that shield when an official exceeded his authority, acted in a negligent manner or disregarded the obligations of the office. I am going to church this week to start a novena asking God to grant justice in these matters.